1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bag of the kind defined in the preamble of claim 1.
The present invention relates to a bag having a body which is provided on at least one of its mutually opposite sides with a lid which is hingedly connected at its lower edge to the bottom part of the body, wherein the lid is substantially rigid and has an outwardly arched outer surface that is formed to lie tangential to the underlying bag supporting surface at a distance from the area in which the bag is supported by the supporting surface when the lid is open.
2. Description of the Related Art
The invention thus relates to a bag that includes a body which has two hinged lids disposed on respective opposite sides thereof. The mutually facing surfaces of said lids and body have pockets and/or fasteners for various implements, consumable articles or supplies, etc. The bag can be used beneficially for accessories associated with the care of infants, for instance pacifiers, feeding bottles, napkins, diapers, skincare agents, etc.
The bag body is adapted to stand stably on a horizontal, flat supporting surface and extends generally perpendicular to this plane. The body has a bottom surface and the lids are hinged to mutually opposing edges thereof. The lids can be folded out from the bag body to rest on said supporting surface with the body standing upright on said surface.
The bag includes means for restricting the maximum angle to which the lids can be opened relative to the body.
WO 87/02227 teaches a bag of this particular kind, where the body comprises a rigid partition wall in the bag, and where the opening limiting means have the form of cords fixedly connected to respective edges of the partition wall and the lids extending parallel with the lid hinge axes, in their longitudinal midway region. The cords have a length which enables the two lids to lie flat on the underlying supporting surface, whereas the partition wall stands upright on said surface when the cords are stretched.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,628 teaches a case that includes a body which has storage spaces that are open towards the case lids, wherewith the outsides of the lids and the bottom of the body lie in a common plane (the supporting plane) in the opened state of the case.
One object of the invention is to provide a bag that will stand stably on a horizontal, underlying supporting surface even when one of its two lids is opened out to an angle in which the rim of the lid lies in a plane that defines an angle of at least 5xc2x0 with the supporting surface, and preferably an angle of 10-40xc2x0, and more preferably an angle of 10-30xc2x0 therewith.
In the case of a bag that comprises a body and two hingedly connected lids, a further object of the invention is to provide comfortable access to a storage space in the bag when the lids are closed against the body.
These objects are achieved with the bag according to the present invention.
According to one embodiment of the invention preferred at present, the body has on each of two mutually opposite sides a lid that is substantially rigid and generally panel-like in construction and that has an outwardly curved or arched outer surface as seen in a plane normal to the hinge axes of the lids, such that the lids impart an aesthetically attractive, gently curved appearance to the bag, such as to form a storage space in respective lids inwardly of their rim plane. The lid opening limiting means suitably has the form of flexible pleated walls that connect the side edges of the body to the side edges of respective lids. The lids are adapted to support against the underlying bag supporting plane at a significant distance from the hinge axes of respective lids, when the rim plane of the arched lid defines an angle of, e.g., 10-70xc2x0 with the bag supporting plane. The lid opening limiting means may be adapted to define the angle to which the lid can be opened from the bag body and at which the lid will lie tangential to said supporting plane. Because the lid can also support against the supporting plane outside the body surface supported by said supporting surface, the risk of the bag toppling is reduced when solely one lid is opened out to said inclined angle to the underlying supporting surface and carries a heavy load.
The body includes a generally rectangular bottom plate that has support feet in respective corners thereof. The body has a generally tubular shape, whose cross-section is preferably substantially partitioned by a panel that is generally perpendicular to the bottom plate of the bag and functions to stabilise the generally tubular part of said body. In addition to the bottom plate, the tubular part of the body also includes a narrower top plate and top-plate connecting walls, which are preferably trapezoidal in shape, such that the tubular part of said body will have end planes that slope upwards/inwards towards a body symmetry plane.
Thus, the rim planes of the lids will be located above the bottom plate of the bag when the lids are closed, so that the centre of gravity of the lids and their contents will be displaced in a direction towards the bottom plate of the bag and preferably to a position inwardly of the bottom-plate supporting surface lying against the underlying support surface.
In one embodiment of the bag, the upper part of the body has an opening which permits user access to the bag interior whilst the lids are closed against the body. This access opening enables the user to reach frequently used articles, such as comforters or pacifiers, feeding bottles, and the like. A flap or the like is suitably hinged on the bag, preferably on one of its lids, so that it can be dropped over the opening so as to cover the same. The free end of the flap may include means for releasably fastening the flap on the opposite side of the opening.
The opening can extend along a selected part of the upper edge of the bag, and two mutually opposing edge parts of the opening may suitably be formed by rim parts of the bag lids, these edge and rim parts optionally being recessed or apertured to impart a purposeful width to the opening.
The lids are suitably connectable to the bag body through the medium of zip fasteners that extend from the hinge connection of the lids to the bottom plate of the body up to the longitudinal midway plane of the bag or, when an opening is provided through the upper bag plate, to the edge of the opening. The bag is preferably provided with a shoulder strap that connects with two mutually opposing, preferably trapezoidal bag walls.
The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.